Tips For Choosing A Company Name

When it comes to running a company, you want to have a name that’s easily recognisable and makes people want to do business with you.

It can be tricky getting this part right, so we’ve devised some tips for you to help you decide on a name that fits.

What do you do?

Sometimes the answer is right in front of you. What words or phrases best describe what you do, or the products you’ll be selling? It could be as simple as Really Cool Shades Limited* selling on-trend sunglasses or window blinds.

Where are you based?

Think about whether you can link it to the local area if you have a brick-and-mortar store; for example, Elstree Furnishers* sounds as though it’s been established in the area longer than Generic Furniture Shop*.

Be fun and quirky

If you’re still stuck, can you make up a word? Transform long phrases into acronyms, or combine two or more words into something new. For example, Spiky Cactus Media* could become Spiketus Media*.

You can also start to bring out the puns like Aloe Aloe Plant Store*.

What not to do

While you can be as creative as you want to be with your company name, there are some things you need to avoid doing.

Make it too long or complicated

You want your customers to be able to find you online, and part of that is having a name that’s easy to spell. The more words you have in your name, or the more complicated the spelling, the harder it is to get right and the more vigilant you have to be about misspellings. For example, Spike’s Plumbing and Heating Services Brecon Limited* could be too long to remember in full, and could have several of its words misspelt. Also DragnRed Designs* opens itself up to being misspelt because of the missing letter in Dragon and the colour coming after the object which is less natural to say than Red Dragon.

Pick a name that limits you

Taking the example above of Really Cool Shades Limited, if they sell sunglasses, what happens if they branch out into selling hats and other summer clothes? Suddenly they are limited by the name they have chosen.

Avoid using sensitive words

Sensitive words and phrases are set out by Companies House. It’s a list of words and phrases that either cannot be used in company names, or can be used as long as there is supporting documentation with the application.

For example, MadeUpName Chartered Accountants* would have to provide supporting evidence that they are allowed to use the term ‘Chartered’ by their professional body.

For the full list of 134 sensitive words, please check out the gov.uk website.

* All business names are works of fiction and any similarity to actual business names is purely coincidental.

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